Over Santiago, a photo from Santiago, Central Valley

Photographer's Note

It's not exactly a unique shot, but in any visit to Santiago de Chile it's a necessary one. Cerro San Cristobal is the highest point in the city, and on a clear day has unrivaled views of the Andes Mountains and the Chilean Coastal Range, which create a bowl in which the city itself sits. In the winter months - June, July and August in the Southern Hemisphere - this allows a thermal inversion in which air is held still at ground level. This tends to lead to a great deal of smog in the city itself, an issue Santiago has dealt with for several decades since it began to expand rapidly after World War II.

We were fortunate enough to see it on a reasonably clear winter day. This view, west from the top of Cerro San Cristobal, shows two of Santiago's newest and most modern buildings, one of which is still being constructed, with the Andes as a magnificent backdrop. In the center of the photo you can see the thick band of smog that hangs over the city, obscuring spectacular crystal clear views.

macjake, holmertz, marabu61, rmhi, PaulVDV, kwekwekan, mkamionka, maloutim, lilito, delpeoples, EstelleJ, kato, onphoto, NickVu has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

jga (1062) 2012-07-14 8:20

Hi Andrew,
I like this shot in 2 parts: the city in the lower part and the mountain in the upper one.
The view is impressive.
Well done.
Julien

JFS (32459) 2012-07-14 8:31

Spectacular view over Santiago! Amazing! the depth of field is excellent! My compliments!
�
Cheers,
Juan

lousat (138541) 2012-07-14 8:36

Waaw Andrew,what a pic! Impressive capture whit the smog over city,remember me Milano in winter....ehhee..fantastic crop,details,colors and brightness,i like it! Have a nice weekend and thanks,Luciano

npecanhuk (79329) 2012-07-14 8:47

Hello Andrew!
Wow! that's a great picture!
In spite of all that smog, the cityscape is wonderful, with its most modern buildings framed by the majestuous Andes!
TFS - congrats,
Best regards and greetings from Brazil,
Neyvan

macjake (98260) 2012-07-14 8:50

Hi Andrew
Chile is a country thats very high on my to-see list.
here, you show us an amazing city view!
you've got smog, clean and clear blue sky, architecture, highrises, and mountains!
what more could you ask for.
I've really enjoyed this photo.
excellent POV
cheers
craig

rbellemare (2109) 2012-07-14 8:51

Wow,

What a great picture. The smog can almost be touch. The difference of light between the city (under the smog and the Andes is unbelievable. I'm looking forward to visit Chili one of these day. But from what I'm seeing on your picture I might take a gas mask with me (joking).

Very beautiful picture.

R閖ean

madhumita_roy86 (2344) 2012-07-14 9:57

Hi Andrew,
Wow!great image...just nothing to say...
excellent POV & DOF...
awesome sharpness,colours...
great city view with mountains...
very creative & impressive composition...
Tfs! regards,
Madhumita.

holmertz (101890) 2012-07-14 11:41

Hello Andrew,
It's not easy to take a unique photo, and who cares as long as it's well done. And this is a tremendous picture, beautiful and scary and very informative. It's like looking into heaven and hell at the same time, and doing it with perfect sharpness and clarity. The effect of this weather phenomenon is like two pictures stitched together, they're really so much like worlds apart.
Regards,
Gert

marabu61 (11587) 2012-07-14 13:28

Hi Andrew
Amazing picture of Santiago. Incredible the contrast between the city, the layer of smog and the crystal clear mountains. This composition works superbly
Daniel

PaulVDV (62752) 2012-07-14 13:57

Hello Andrew,
The view over the city and the skyscrapers towards the snowcapped mountain range is awesome!
Good you had the opportunity to be there on a clear winter day.
But when I see that smog ... horrible! Haven't you experienced health problems during your stay ? Such as a sore throat.
The picture is composed of two completely different parts: the upper part looks gorgeous, an unspoiled paradise. The lower part looks like an awful place to live. I hope they encounter this problem only during those three months.
Very valuable and enriching picture and note.
Best regards, Paul

Miguel82 (47110) 2012-07-14 14:56

Andrew,
Excellent composition and good framing
This is a a magnific view of the Andean mountains
We can see the air pollution in that city
Sharp picture and fine colors
Have a good day

dekanski (9255) 2012-07-14 15:41 [Comment]

Show Comment

kwekwekan (1078) 2012-07-14 17:45

Hello Andrew,
A beautiful postcard of Santiago, with bright clear lighting. Your composition is very good and the note is informative as well. It is incredible how clear the air is over the mountain, contrasted with the smog that hangs over the city. Normally I would say the smog detracts from a photo, but it is definitely not the case here. Well done!
Cheers,
Caleb

siudzi (34141) 2012-07-14 23:17

Hi Andrew,
Wow! What a view here! Truly amazing place! Fantastic composition taken from incredibly well selected POV. Bravo! TFS.

Warm regards,
Malgorzata

anupam06 (773) 2012-07-14 23:19

Hi Andrew,

For a moment I thought you have super imposed two photos here. WOW!!! This is an amazing capture and everything about this frame is commendable. Great stuff indeed!

TFS & WR,
Anupam

gesp (152) 2012-07-15 7:15

Hi Andrew
Amazing picture with fantastic composition. Unbelievable difference between the city below the layer of smog and the clear mountains with bright lighting.
Regards, Petr

jmdias (114170) 2012-07-16 3:02

andrew

marvelous image. despite being to big the buildings and the human projects are nothing near the huge andes ahead. nice light, framing and pov. TFS.

hugs

jorge

rychem (72187) 2012-07-16 10:19

Wow, excellent shot, grat DOF, beautiful view of Andes, well captured smog over Santiago
regards
Ryszard

emka (157280) 2012-07-16 23:37

Hi Andrew, Superb view of the Santaiago from Cerro San Cristobal. quite hazy in fg and wonderful view of the snow capped Andes bihind. Impressive panorama. I was also on this "must" viewpoint. it seems they built new sky scrapers.

Warm regrads

Malgo

mkamionka (73224) 2012-07-17 13:39

Hi Andew,
wow this is a very impressive photo.
We have just visited the Torres del Paine in Chile, nothing else, but we have so many thing on the list... This view I definitely put on my wish-list.
Incredible contrast of the modern architecture and the distant summits covered with snow.
Excellent work!!!
M

Silvio1953 (220465) 2012-07-27 2:01

Ciao Andrew, amazing view of fantastic city and wonderful mountains, magic misty atmosphere, great light and splendid colors, very well done, my friend, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

Ber (8242) 2012-08-07 13:24

Hi Andrew
What a great picture. Incredible the contrast between the city, the layer of smog and the crystal clear mountains.
regards

cdmonson (5304) 2012-08-30 14:46

Wow, you took this in June? I remember going for weeks on end in the winter without a clear view of the mountains, what with the inversions and the constant rain. (I lived in Santiago for a couple years). Love the shot.

No_One (4) 2012-09-30 9:28

Hi Andrew,
Its a unique shot to me, I've never seen this city like this before, and its extremely impressive. It actually feels like a scene from a disaster movie, courtesy of the smog cloud, but the city skyline is spuerb. Then the majestic mountains that the amazing sky. Beautiful shot, thank you for sharing this spetacular view!
Best wishes
Noel

delpeoples (60342) 2012-10-02 19:05

HI Andrew

My God, that's some serious smog problem! What a shame that a city with so much natural beauty can be marred in this way. Your photo almost looks like 2 photos in 1. I couldn't believe that those pristine mountains can be so close to that mess of smog. My uncle is from Santiago, having immigrated here 50 years ago. A photo like this would sadden him profoundly. Thank you for your reportage shot, not a happy one, but necessary.

Thanks for sharing
Lisa

Juzo (2151) 2012-12-12 9:06

Hi Andrew,
A great skyline shot, showing so many elements - three parts to make a composition: the buildings, the smog, the mountains. Quite an eye catching scene, and a city I want to visit one day.
Cheers
Justin

EstelleJ (921) 2013-02-08 9:48

Hi Andrew,
What an outstanding image you have here!!
An actual visible illustration of what our civilization is doing to ourselves and our Mother Planet!
But it is reassuring to see the purity of white snow on the majestic mountains above the city!
There is a whole story here in this shot.

Have a great weekend.
Jenna

kato (11630) 2013-02-09 0:01

Hello Andrew,

You're capturing well this cityscape by a good angle and excellent tone/clarity, so it's interesting and impressive to see the view with the cluster of high-rise buildings, xmoggy air and tje Andes Mountains covered to the snow in behind. Smog is a modern disease in a big city. Although it is necessary to change into the clean energy replaced with present oil and gas as a measure against smog, realization still seems to be difficult by profitability and the amount of supply.

Kind regards,
mikio

onphoto (1365) 2013-05-14 0:04

Andes and latin America... We have on our minds different things here. This image can be compared with the smog of Athens and some smaller mountains. Great shot!

Keep doing it well!

tulipan7 (804) 2014-02-21 14:22

This is exactly how I remember Santiago - great city surrounded with magnificent mountains, their tops covered with snow and something in between that ruins the perfect picture...
With this picture you succeeded what I didn't - to photograph it. I'm sure it's because you were fortunate enough to be there on a reasonably clear winter day, definitely not because of my lack of skills...

boa (8039) 2014-03-10 12:31

Hi Andrew,
i didn磘 spend more than a few hours in Santiago due i had to catch a connection bus for Valparaiso but i admit that would be interesting to spend some days here! I like the impression of two pictures in one. Smog is not really a nice thing but in this scene it create a fantastic effect! Great shot!

Have a nice evening/
Boa

yquem46 (38752) 2014-03-10 12:36

hi Andrew
thanks to boa, I found this one in the critiques page, that I missed when posted
I was in Santiago 4 months ago, at the end of my trip in argentina, but did not have the opportunity to see the city with this pov on the skyscrapers and the Andes cordillera as BG
A great great shot ! Super !
Un grand bravo
best regards, have a nice evening
patrick